Untitled
by Lovesic Lyrix
Summary: The team is looking for a bomb with only minutes left to find and deactivate it, when Charlie just happens to show up at the wrong time.   Title needed!
1. What Doesn't Kill Us

**Author's Note**

So, it's been a while since the last time I put something up! This was just a spur of the moment thing I jotted down in my science class. (We had a sub and were just watching some boring movie anyway.) So I decided to share it with you. The first part anyway. :P

I apologize in advance if anything sounds screwy or unrealistic or anything like that. Like I said, it was a spur of the moment thing, and it focuses more on Don and Charlie than anything else.

Also, I couldn't think of a good enough title for this, so if you have any ideas, please do share! I'd like to see what others can come up with! :)

Enjoy!

**I do not own Numb3rs.**

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><p><span>Part 1 :: What Doesn't Kill Us...<span>

Don was slowly regaining awareness, his groggy mind searching for a reason as to why he felt like he'd been hit by a ton of bricks. At first he figured he just slept in a bad position. A really bad position. But upon attempting to move, he found that his theory was wrong. Oh, so very wrong.

The air was thick and heavy with the smell of sulfur and iron. Like an explosion.

And blood.

His eyes immediately shot open, the events from only minutes ago flooding back into his mind.

Him and his team had been working on a terrorist case. Bombs were being set off in random places and they still had very few leads to track down the group. They were very smart and strategic. They were good at what they did, and it seemed to be a losing battle for them as of late.

They'd found the general location of the latest bomb thanks to his genius brother, and had only minutes to find and deactivate it. But it was too late. And then Charlie showed up for God knows what—

Charlie...

Don shot up, despite every screaming muscle in his aching body, and ran. He couldn't see straight. The air was foggy with dust and debris from the explosion, and couldn't hear quite clearly because of the loud blast. He, his team and his brother had been a little too close for comfort when the bomb had gone off.

He could see ambulances and paramedics arriving at the scene as he hobbled along pathetically. He wasn't even thinking of where his team was. They were tough. They could handle these kinds of things. Besides, they had their vests on, including himself, which provided a bit more protection against the powerful blast. Charlie didn't. And all that was on his mind was finding him before it was too late.

"Charlie!" He yelled, though he didn't know how loud, or how long, or even how many times. His thoughts were a jumbled mess, and his mind wasn't anywhere near as clear as it should have been thanks to the growing bump on his head. His body felt like it was going to fall apart at any moment, but he ignored the pain. All that mattered to him was finding Charlie.

Alive, hopefully.

An unbearable weight pressed down on his chest when he thought of finding his baby brother, motionless and not breathing. His veins no longer pumping blood to his brilliant brain.

He had to shake the thought from his own brain. Thinking like that would only send him into a panic, and he couldn't afford to freak out now.

He and his brother had finally broken down the remaining wall keeping them separated. They were finally connecting without using Don's work as a crutch. They could talk alone, and about things not related to work. They didn't even know how it happened, but it did, and it was amazing. A miracle, even. It was like when they were kids, before there was any anger or resentment or misunderstanding and confusion. The past was in the past, and their relationship was blossoming for the first time. A late bloomer, yes, but a bloomer nonetheless. And Don couldn't lose that.

After what felt like hours of scouting the area, not counting the few times he stopped to help a few other people who'd been caught in the blast, he finally spotted his baby brother's small form laying next to a brick wall building. He wasn't moving.

Don ran to him, falling to his knees at his side. "Charlie!" He spoke frantically. "Charlie, come on buddy, wake up!" He shook him lightly by the shoulder, afraid to do anymore damage if anything had been pulled, torn or broken.

After getting no response, he gently scooped the smaller man into his arms. "C'mon Chuck! Snap out of it!"

He barely heard it, but after a moment, a weak moan escaped the unconscious man's lips. Don looked at his pale face with overwhelming worry.

"That's it, buddy! Come on, open your eyes for me."

Slowly, Charlie managed to open his eyes. They were heavy and unfocused, but he'd managed to do it.

"..Don..?" He spoke softly, finally focusing his gaze on his older brother.

"I'm right here Charlie." Don smiled softly, reassuringly, at the youngest Eppes. "I've got you."

"Wha-.. what happened...?"

"There was a bomb here. We didn't get to it on time... You weren't supposed to be here. You know I don't like it when you come to crime scenes." Don scolded, but softly. He just didn't have the heart to be angry with his brother right now, seeing him so confused and vulnerable. It just wasn't right.

"M'sorry... Donnie..." He mumbled groggily as his eyes began to slide shut, and he soon lost consciousness again, slumping against Don's chest as he held him close.

"S'alright buddy..." He whispered softly. "Let's get you out of here and to a hospital." He was pretty sure his brother had a concussion, and possibly other injuries. He wasn't sure though, he was just glad he'd found Charlie still breathing.

He tried to stand, but his body was spent. He'd had so much adrenaline rushing through him as he searched for his brother, and he hadn't noticed until now how tired his aching limbs were. He noticed he'd been having a bit of trouble breathing too, and his vision was gradually becoming unfocused and blurred.

'No...' He thought gravely to himself. 'Not now. Not yet. I gotta get Charlie out of here...'

But it was no use. His body became more heavy with each passing moment, and he soon collapsed with Charlie still wrapped weakly in his arms.

He stared at his brother's face, quickly becoming a blur of pale skin, dark curls and an even blurrier scene behind him, and watched as it all faded to darkness.

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><p><strong>End Notes<strong>

And there you have it. Part 1 of the story.

Hm. I can't help but think Don was somewhat out of character. I know it's not the best, and I'm sure there are things I could've worded better, but whatever.

So, what do you guys think? Should I bother putting up the second part?

Reviews make me a happy panda! :)


	2. Only Makes Us Stronger

Part 2 :: ...Only Makes Us Stronger.

Again, Don found himself slowly coming back to his senses. He was a little less out of it this time, but a little more confused. And the annoyingly constant beeping wasn't helping any.

Then he remembered, the last time he was conscious he wasn't alone.

His eyes snapped open and he sat upright, a dull pain throbbing in the back of his head and pulling on his sore muscles. Nothing he couldn't handle thought.

"Charlie?" He croaked through a sore throat, looking around and registering the familiar, very boring white walls that seemed to box him in. He looked to his right, where he saw the heart monitor, and followed the tube connected to a bag of liquid to his arm, where the IV disappeared into his vein. An uneasy feeling fell over him.

He was in the hospital. And he was away from Charlie.

He carelessly pulled anything that was connected to him off. He needed to find Charlie and make sure he was okay.

He nearly made it out the door when a young nurse with long ebony hair stopped him. She looked to be about in her late 20's.

"Sir, you need to get back to your bed! You're not ready to—"

"Charlie Eppes. Where is he?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Charlie Eppes..." She repeated. "Oh. He's your brother right? You're Agent Eppes?" He nodded hurriedly. "He's just down the hall. He'll be fine, he's resting right now. And you should be too! Now get back to bed." She finished and started to guide Don back to the bed.

But he wasn't quite satisfied yet. He needed to see for himself that his brother was indeed okay.

"Please..." He looked down at the young woman's name tag. "Ms. Vinacky. I really need to see my brother."

She crossed her arms and gave him an unsure look as her intense and rather captivating hazel eyes, clad in black eyeliner, thick eyelashes and a naturally complementing shade of eyeshadow, gave him the once-over. After a moment, they softened, and she gave him a small smile.

"Well, I suppose you could see him for a few minutes." She finally decided, brushing some of her long locks behind her ear. He noticed a small earring in the shape of an ice cream cone with a smiley face on it.

Don smiled. "Thanks."

"No biggie." Her smile widened a bit, and she began leading him to his brother's room. "Oh, and don't call me 'Ms. Vinacky'. That always makes me feel old. Just call me Harper, kay?" She added, giving him a playful wink over her shoulder.

Don had to grin a little at her sudden informality. It was kinda cute. "Sure thing. Harper." It was a rather interesting name, he'd give her that.

"So. What's the damage?"

"Well, you hit your head pretty hard, no concussion, though a few stitches were necessary for a small laceration. You have a few cuts and bruises, but nothing serious other than your head. Are you sure you're okay to be walking?"

That explained the bouts of dizziness, but he didn't remember any bleeding. And if he didn't notice himself bleeding, maybe he didn't notice if Charlie was bleeding. He was starting to feel very uneasy now, despite Harper's reassurance that he'd be fine.

"Sir?" He looked up and noticed they'd stopped walking. When did he stop? He shouldn't be stopping yet, they weren't in Charlie's room yet.

"Sir, are you okay? Do you need to sit down?" Harper asked, concerned. She put a gentle hand on his shoulder. There was a compassion shining in her eyes that reminded him almost of his mother.

"What? Oh, no, I'm fine. I was just... I meant my brother. What's the damage to him?" He stuttered stupidly.

"Oh." She answered shortly, helping him sit down at a nearby bench, much to Don's annoyance. "Well, he has a pretty bad concussion. A few bruised ribs and quite a bump on the head, but other than that, he's in pretty good condition considering the circumstances. In fact, you both are. Being so close to an explosion like that, I'm surprised neither of you had broken anything."

Don let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. So it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Then another thought occurred to him.

"Megan Reeves, David Sinclair and Colby Granger. They're my team, they were in the explosion too. What about them, are they okay?"

She blinked, taking a moment to register the familiar names. She immediately remembered Colby Granger, he was the tall, attractive one that made a gash in the side seem like nothing, and for all she knew, for him, maybe it was.

Megan was obviously the only female among them. And that left the African American man as David.

"Well, they're all conscious and coherent. Agent Granger has a large gash in his side. A piece of metal got him, but it's not life threatening. Eight to ten stitches and he was good as new. Agent Reeves fractured her left forearm, but other than a few cuts and bruises that's all the damage. She may need to take it easy for a few weeks off work to let her arm heal. And Agent Sinclair has mild whiplash. They're all doing well though, so don't worry yourself. In fact, they've all been asking about you and your brother." She smiled at how devoted all these guys were to each other.

Don let his tense muscles relax slightly as he absorbed this news. He had to stop himself from wincing. It must have been pain medication in the IV drip, because he was really starting to feel the after affects of everything.

"So what are you, some sort of super nurse or something?" Don asked with a small smirk.

She laughed and shook her head. "Nah, I just pay too much attention to everyone that comes in here." She pointed to her head, her expression becoming rather arrogant. "I have an eidetic memory."

Don's eyebrows rose. "Oh yeah? That must come in handy."

She nodded. "It really does. And it helps out overly worried people like you, too." She smiled widely. She seemed genuinely happy about that fact. She was so much like his mother...

"Hey, by the way, the name's Don." He stated randomly.

She eyed him again, that smile still spread widely along her pretty face, double checking his condition, and helped him stand up. "Alright then, Don. Shall we?" She offered, looping her arm with his, either to keep him steady or just cause she wanted to he didn't know. But he didn't really mind it.

"We shall." He concluded with a small smirk, and they both walked the rest of the way, arm in arm.

...

Don braced himself when they got to the correct door, took a breath, and walked in, Harper right behind him. He approached the small man in the bed, sleeping peacefully. He had a few wires and IVs attached to him, and of course that damn heart monitor with it's steady beeping again. Though he couldn't say he hated it. It was the thing that reassured you the others' heart was still beating. And for that, he could never hate it.

He looked pale and fragile in the suddenly intimidating hospital bed. He hated hospitals, with a passion.

'Oh well,' He thought to himself, 'No use crying over it now.'

He sat in the chair next to the bed and took his little brother's hand in his. The warmth radiating from it was a blessing in disguise, and it almost healed his aching muscles.

"Hey buddy." He smiled uncharacteristically sweetly. "Looks like we made it."

He sighed, his good mood brought on by his enthusiastic nurse suddenly fading. He turned to Harper, about to say something, when he noticed she was no longer there.

"Harper..?" He called out softly. He got no response.

"No, s'Charlie..." A familiar groggy voice corrected, and he whipped his head back to his brother. A smile suddenly found its way back to Don's features as he stared into warm, chocolate eyes.

"Hey buddy, welcome back." He chuckled.

He got a weak grin in response. "Hey Donnie."

"How're you feeling?"

"Like I've been given a slightly larger dose of pain meds than I should have gotten." He joked, though it was partially true, he had to admit. He was numb everywhere. Couldn't feel a thing.

Don laughed. But the smile slowly faded to a slightly more serious look, and he took Charlie's hand again, getting ready to say something, not really knowing what.

"Charlie..."

Charlie looked at him expectantly, ready to listen to anything and everything he had to say. That devotion directed towards him, the pure affection in his brother's eyes at that moment, just for him, touched him deeper than he ever thought possible. He knew it had always been there, anytime Charlie would look at him for longer than a moment, but it was only now that he truly realized how much it meant to him.

"Buddy, I... I'm really glad you're alright. I... I don't know what I would've done, if..." He trailed off, letting the look he was giving him finish the rest.

For the first time since he woke up, Charlie's eyes opened all the way, and became misty. "Don..." He started, a loving smile spreading across his pale face.

He attempted to sit up, but was quickly stopped when a sudden dizziness hit him like a brick wall. He would have fallen right out of the bed if Don didn't catch him falling sideways in his daze.

"Woah buddy, slow down. You got yourself a concussion, so don't be moving around so fast. You okay?" Don scolded softly, slowly laying him back down.

He was answered with a soft groan. The pain in his head was now making itself known, even with all the painkillers pumping through his body.

"Yeah, I'm okay..." He spoke softly, trying not to agitate his aching head any further. He looked at his brother again, and all that tender affection was practically glowing in his eyes, two-fold. Don had to smirk a bit.

"What's with that look?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer. Charlie smiled, a slight blush coloring his pale cheeks.

"You know what it means."

"Yeah, I know Buddy." Don smiled, rubbing Charlie's hand affectionately. "I love you, too."

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><p><strong>End Notes<strong>

Wow, I was so happy with all the awesome reviews I got on the first part! :) I'm sorry this took so long, I was torn between several different directions I could have brought this.

Anyway, this is (possibly) the end of this short story.

The question is, would you like to see a third part to this? Maybe find out about this mysterious nurse Harper?

It's up to you guys really. This would be a good ending to this if you don't want me to continue. But, I could always whip up an epilogue if you'd like! :)

Thanks again for reading!


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